Stadium 2's gameplay mechanics will be instantly familiar to anyone who has
ever played a Pokémon game -- or fought a battle in a traditional
RPG for that matter. Before I talk about some of the basic stuff you have
to know to be a successful Pokémon Stadium player, a quick word of
caution: If you're playing Stadium 2 and you don't own Pokémon Gold
or Silver for the Game Boy, you will miss out on a lot of cool features.
This game was designed with connectivity in mind, and it's a lot less rewarding
if you don't use the Transfer Pak and the Game Boy games.

This section covers some of the basic stuff you should know about Pokémon
types, gives type and Pokémon suggestions as well as some universal
battle tips.

Getting Started

No matter which mode you play, you have to first put together a team of six
Pokémon (or use your Game Boy game's current party) that you think
can take on the competition, then select three of them each round. Although
you can't see which three your opponent chooses for battle, his six-Pokémon
party is open for everyone to see. When choosing your own three combatants,
you should try to always select them as if you are going up against all six
of the other trainer's Pokémon.

The most important thing to know before you do this is the role type differences
play in battle. All Pokémon can be categorized by one or two type
specifications. Next to the individual Pokémon stats (such as HP,
Strength, Defense, etc), these types determine what each creature's strengths,
abilities and weaknesses are. When putting together a team, remember that
creating a well-balanced team is the most important skill a Pokémon
trainer can have.

The following chart tells you what attacks are effective against what opponent
types.

"+" (green) means the attack is effective and deals twice the damage (ie:
a Fire attack causes double damage when used on a Grass type)
"-" (orange) means it is not effective and will only deal half the damage
(ie: a Bug attack is not effective against a Fire opponent)
"X" (red) means this attack can't hit that particular opponent type (ie:
Electric techniques can't harm Ground Pokémon).

Note that a Pokémon that uses an attack that is of its same type (ie:
Abra, a Psychic Pokémon, using the Psychic technique) deals 50% more
damage than a Pokémon that uses a non-matching attack (ie: Abra, a
Psychic Pokémon, using the Thunder technique).

The damage any given attack causes is further determined by each individual
Pokémon's Level as well as Attack and Special stats.

Basic Attack Strategies

Here are a few strategies that should help you win in Pokémon Stadium
2.

First of all, know your Pokémon types. If you know who you're going
up against, it's really easy to put together your own team. Use the chart
above to see what type is vulnerable to what opponent and browse our
Pokédex for info on individual Pokémon.

Create a diverse team. Try not to use the same type in one team more than
twice.

Use Thunder Wave or other Paralyze moves to slow down (and paralyze) your
opponents. This is very important for the R-2 mode and is also a popular
technique used by the CPU.

Use a Psychic Pokémon in almost every battle. If you don't have a
good one yet, go back into the Game Boy games and train one now.

Remember the Level restrictions in some of the cups. Luckily, the same holds
true for the CPU. Before each battle, look at the levels of your CPU's
Pokémon. This can help you figure out which two can't be in battle
at the same time.

Use status changing effects like Sleep as a starting move against tough
opponents.

Use your own Pokémon whenever you can. Rentals are almost never as
powerful as Pokémon caught and raised in the Game Boy games.

When capturing new Pokémon in the Game Boy game, capture multiple
Pokémon of the same type at the lowest possible level. You will notice
that the stats vary from creature to creature. Compare the stats in the Pokémon
Academy, store the ones you're not interested in on the N64 cart -- and train
only the one with the highest stats. Remember that your Pokémon don't
gain experience in Pokémon Stadium 2. All the training has to be done
in the Game Boy games.

Stadium 2 allows your Pokémon to carry items. Use this to your advantage.
Give them powerful healing items, or items that complement their attacks
(i.e. Mystic Water to water types). For more info, take Professor Oak's lectures
at the Academy.

Don't only teach your Pokémon techniques that pertain to their own
type. For example, unless you spend a lot of time on training a Bug
Pokémon, Jolteon (Electric) with Pin Missile is the most effective
opponent against Psychic types.

Poison your opponent with Toxic, then use disabling moves like Bind, Sleep
or Confuse.

Wrap, Fire Spin, Clamp, Bind, etc don't cause much damage, but they're a
great way to annoy your opponent into switching Pokémon.

Don't use two-part moves too often that freeze your Pokémon unless
you're using it to finish off a Pokémon with low HP. Two notable
exceptions are Dig and Fly.

Use Swift. It even hits opponents that are in the usually protected first
part of the Fly or Dig moves.

Selfdestruct moves are excellent to take out high-level opponents. Both Explosion
and Selfdestruct make for great opening moves against tough opponents.

If your Pokémon is low on HP and slower than your opponent, use Quick
Attack to get one last hit in.

Know when to switch! Switching Pokémon gives your opponent a free
hit most of the time. If your Pokémon is slow and low on HP, there
is really no use in switching it out (unless you're looking to get continues).
Let it faint. On the other hand, don't hesitate to switch if you've got a
fresh Pokémon with no chance of succeeding because it's weak against
your opponent's type.

Before renting a Pokémon, look at its selection of moves. Don't select
your rentals strictly by type and by Pokémon preference. Their techniques
are crucial to your success.

Against Human Players
Battling human players is a completely different story to playing against
the computer. Here are a few quick tricks and tactics you can use to become
the best trainer of them all:

Don't hold down the R-Button when selecting your attack. Memorize your
configuration and just hit the corresponding C-Button.

Trick your opponent into believing that you will use a certain Pokémon
type. For example, if half your Pokémon (out of six) are Water types,
it's very likely that your opponent will use an Electric type as his starting
Pokémon because he/she thinks you'll use at least one Water type.
Instead, leave all the Water types out and start off with a Ground Pokémon
that's immune to Electric attacks.

Train some of the less popular Pokémon, like Bug or Rock types. Chances
are your opponent doesn't know what to use against them.

Mess with your opponent by misnaming your Pokémon. Name a Nidoking
"Nidoran Female", an Onix "Dratini", Gyarados "Nidorina" and so on.

Predict your adversary's next move. If your opponent is using a Psychic and
your Pokémon is a Poison type, you know he/she will use a Psychic
attack next. Switch to a Bug Pokémon to avoid getting knocked out.

Train two similar Pokémon with the same name, but teach them different
attacks. This will make your game much less predictable.

Pokémon Types

Each Pokémon falls into either one or two of 15 different Pokémon
types. Below, you will find a quick listing of the categories, as well as
my our favorites for each Pokémon type. With the exception of a few
low-level misfits like Magikarp, Weedle, Caterpie and Kakuna, almost every
Pokémon can be a worthwhile addition to your team. It's all about
selecting the right moves and raising the Pokémon to a high level.
Performance enhancers can also help turning an average Pokémon into
a mean fighting machine, so be sure to look for them in the Game Boy games.

Normal

Normal types may have fewer weaknesses than the other types, but they also
lack damage modifiers. The good thing about many of them is that they can
learn diverse techniques like Toxic, Blizzard, Seismic Toss, and so on. This
makes battling a Normal quite a bit less predictable than going up against
a Pokémon of another type. You just never know what techniques its
trainer has chosen to concentrate on... Use this fact to your advantage when
training Normal types.

Best Pokémon: Tauros, Snorlax
Tauros has got to be the most underrated Pokémon in the game. This
multi-tailed bull has very balanced stats, but it's got one major problem:
it doesn't learn any decent attacks on its own. That's where your TMs come
in. Bring it up to a high level and teach it powerful elemental Fire, Ice,
Water, Ground and Electric attacks and it will be virtually unstoppable.
Snorlax, on the other hand, is more of a tank. This slow creature can be
very effective in tough, long battles. Use its high HP to your advantage.
Plus, it learns Rest, which lets it recover all its HP and heal all status
changes.

Fire

In general, Fire Pokémon are not quite as powerful as Water or Electric
types, but they're an excellent choice against Grass, Ice and Bug types.
Most players tend to train Charizard the most out of all their Fire
Pokémon. Although the flying lizard has good stats, it's also very
vulnerable to Electric and Ice attacks. It's better to stick with a single-type
Fire Pokémon.

Best Pokémon: Arcanine, Moltres, Flareon
Arcanine rocks. Although Flareon and Moltres are excellent Fire types, this
Fire Lion has got the Speed and HP to make a difference in any battle. If
you're looking for something with a bit more Special power, try Moltres.
The only problem is that it doesn't learn any decent techniques by itself
(use TMs) and the fact that it's a dual type, but its stats are awesome.
Finally, add Flareon to your team if you want pure Attack power.

Water

Water types are abundant in all the Pokémon games -- which is a good
thing if you've got a lot of Electric and Grass Pokémon. But there
is simply no better choice against Ground, Rock and Fire types than a powerful
Water Pokémon.

Best Pokémon: Blastoise, Gyarados, Cloyster, Starmie
Blastoise remains the most balanced Water Pokémon in the game. With
the exception of Speed, it's got all the right stats to knock out those nasty
Ground, Rock and Fire opponents. Another favorite is Gyarados. Sure, it's
a dual Flying type -- but you wouldn't use a Water Pokémon against
an Electric type anyway, right? Gyarados just looks cool and has wonderful
Special, Attack and HP stats to boot. Another worthwhile dual Water type
is the Ice Pokémon Cloyster. Only the most powerful attacks can get
through this floating bad boy's insanely high Defense. Teach it moves like
Blizzard and Surf and check out what it can do. You may also want to check
out the dual Psychic-type Starmie.

Electric

One look at our Stadium section should tell you that Flying and Water
Pokémon are everywhere. Both are vulnerable to Electric attacks, making
Electric Pokémon the single most important addition to any team.

Best Pokémon: Jolteon, Zapdos
I suggest you train both a Jolteon and a Zapdos. Jolteon, which is hands-down
Eevee's best evolution, is one of the fastest Pokémon in the game
and dishes out powerful special attacks. To make things even better, it learns
Thunder Wave and Thunder on its own (two very important moves) as well as
the Bug technique Pin Missile. This makes it a strong contender against Psychic
types as well. The legendary Zapdos, on the other hand combines Flying and
Electric attacks. You should teach it Thunderbolt or Thunder as well, as
Fly. Two essential choices.

Grass

Tangela is the only true Grass type Pokémon. All others are dual types,
which makes them vulnerable to a lot of attacks. It doesn't help that Grass
types are already vulnerable to four types on their own... Still, a good
Grass type can save the day when going up against Electric, Rock, Ground
or Water types.

Best Pokémon: Tangela, Exeggutor, Venusaur
Tangela has the advantage that its learns a lot of Grass techniques on its
own -- even though other Grass Pokémon may have higher stats. Mega
Drain and Bind are two of the most useful Grass attacks. Bind can drive your
opponent nuts because he/she can't get a hit in -- and Mega Drain can be
very powerful against Electric, Rock, Ground and Water opponents. All the
alternative choices are dual types. The wacky Exeggutor has a ton of HP and
can learn both Sleep Powder and Solar Beam. Venusaur has amazing stats, so
it's definitely worth your while as well. Just keep it away from Psychics.

Ice

Ice Pokémon are rare - and there is no "single Ice type" in the game,
only dual types. While that leaves them open to many attacks, these Pokémon
often have some of the best attacks. They are also the premier choice against
Dragon Pokémon.

Best Pokémon: Articuno, Cloyster
Articuno is an underappreciated powerhouse. Bring it up to level 60 (so it
learns Mist) and teach it Blizzard and Fly and you will have the most powerful
Dragon slayer in the game. Plus, Ground attacks can't hit it. If you're looking
for a Pokémon with higher Defense stats, Cloyster is again a great
choice.

Fighting

I almost never use Fighting Pokémon. Sure, they're fast and take out
Normal types better than any other Pokémon, but one Psychic or Flying
attack and they're history. The other problem is that there aren't all that
many great Fighting techniques. The best, Seismic Toss, can be learned by
a lot of non-Fighting Pokémon and causes damage regardless of type
anyway.

Best Pokémon: Hitmonlee
No other Fighting Pokémon beats Hitmonlee. Hitmonchan may have slightly
higher Special and Defense ratings, but Hitmonlee has got the Speed, HP and
Attack stats to punch all other Fighting Pokémon out of the ring.
Teach him Hi-Jump Kick.

Poison

There aren't many good Poison techniques, which is why many gamers will stay
away from this type altogether. To make things worse, they're really, really
weak against Psychic and Ground attacks. While I tend to not use Poison types
too often, I'm actually a big fan of using Poison techniques to bring down
powerful, hard-to-hit foes. The trick is to poison an opponent early on with
Toxic, then follow up with Sleep, Bind , Stun or Accuracy-lowering techniques
that don't cause any damage but prevent your opponent from hitting you. Toxic
works over time and eventually takes off more and more HP. This can be very
effective.

Best Pokémon: Weezing
There are a bunch of good dual types like Venusaur, Vileplume and Gengar,
but Weezing is definitely the most powerful "true" Poison Pokémon.
Sadly, Weezing doesn't learn Toxic on its own (you need to teach it from
a TM) -- which means you might as well teach Toxic to a faster, non-Poison
Pokémon and skip this type altogether. However, Weezing's Explosion
move can be a really nasty trick to take down someone's star Pokémon.

Ground

The best thing about Ground Pokémon is that they can learn Dig. While
it's a two-part move, it's a great defensive move to evade your opponent's
attacks as well as a very powerful Ground attack. You will definitely need
a Ground type at some point, so don't forget to train one -- even if it's
slow and weak in the beginning.

Best Pokémon: Golem, Dugtrio
Dugtrio is a true Ground type, whereas Golem is a dual Ground/Rock type --
both can learn the powerful Dig and Earthquake Ground techniques that will
instantly knock out Fire, Electric and Poison Pokémon. It's actually
a good idea to train both Golem and Dugtrio. Golem is slow, but very powerful
(and can use Explosion at level 43) and Dugtrio is a little weaker but very
fast. Either one can be the Pokémon of choice against Electric opponents.

Flying

Flying Pokémon are cool, but they have one fatal flaw: they are ultra-weak
against Electric attacks. There is just no way around it. If you face an
Electric opponent, call back your Flying Pokémon. If that's not a
choice, then use the evasive Fly move to get out of the way. But use a Flying
type against Grass, Fighting and Bug and you can only win. If you ever face
an opponent who uses Dig -- switch to a Flying type. Ground attacks can't
harm Flying Pokémon.

Best Pokémon: Zapdos, Articuno, Gyarados
Zapdos is amazing. This dual Flying/Electric type is the only Flying
Pokémon that has good resistance to Electric attacks (although even
it won't last through a Thunder hit dealt by a strong Electric type). Keep
it away from Ice and Rock Pokémon and you will find it to be one of
the top Pokémon in the game. Articuno is another powerful bird type,
just as the flying sea snake Gyarados, but Zapdos is definitely the superstar
among all Flying types.

Psychic

This is perhaps the most important Pokémon type in the whole game.
Psychics have very few weaknesses and are absolutely devastating against
Poison and Fighting Pokémon. They also dish out some of the best
status-altering techniques and are versatile when it comes to learning
non-Psychic techniques. A powered-up Psychic with the technique Psychic,
Recover, Thunder Wave and a fourth non-Psychic maneuver like Seismic Toss,
Dig or Blizzard is almost unstoppable.

Best Pokémon: Mewtwo, Mew, Alakazam, Starmie
No question about it, Mewtwo is not only the best Psychic type, it's the
best Pokémon in the game. With the exception of Defense, Mewtwo's
stats are simply out of this world. It's also able to learn a lot of great
non-Psychic techniques. A powerful Mew -- if you're lucky enough to own one
-- is a good contender to a Mewtwo, even though it's not quite as powerful.
But Mew can learn EVERY TM and HM in the game, which makes battling a Mew
an unpredictable endeavor. Finally, Alakazam is a good choice for players
who like to be a little more down-to-earth with their Psychic Pokémon.
A Kadabra is also not bad (especially when it comes to speed), but you may
want to use a Hypno instead because of its superior Defense stats.

Bug

If you want to train a Bug Pokémon, train it for one reason only:
to take out Psychic Pokémon. The problem with Bugs is that they have
mediocre stats and don't learn many worthwhile Bug techniques. I actually
prefer to use a Jolteon equipped with the only decent Bug attack (Pin Missile)
instead.

Best Pokémon: Scyther, Parasect
Both are dual types, but there really isn't a decent single type Bug in the
game. Scyther is definitely one of the coolest looking Bug types in the game,
and it's fast as well. I like using it just because it looks great. Sadly,
it learns NO Bug technique at all. Parasect only learns Leech Life (a rather
weak Bug attack), but it can use some good status-altering techniques that
may help you get the upper hand in a duel with a Psychic.

rock

Talk about a niche Pokémon type. All Rock Pokémon are dual
types and there are only two Rock techniques in Blue, Red or Yellow -- Rock
Throw (decent) and Rock Slide (good). Rock is great against Fire, Ice, Flying
and Bug Pokémon, but it also add plenty of weaknesses to whatever
type it's paired up with.

Best Pokémon: Aerodactyl, Golem, Rhydon
Golem is a no-brainer, but you may also want to look into the flying dinosaur
Aerodactyl. It's weak against Electric attacks, just like other Flying types,
but it's got amazing HP, Attack and Speed stats. On the downside, it doesn't
learn any Rock techniques... Doh! Rhydon, on the other hand, can learn Rock
Slide. This rather strong Ground/Rock type has high Defense and Attack stats,
but because of its low Speed rating it's recommended only for trainers who
have a lot of time to level-up almost all their Pokémon.

Ghost

Another rare type, Ghost Pokémon also only exist in dual form. All
three Ghosts in the game are dual Ghost/Poison types. On the upside, the
dual Ghost nature doesn't really add any new weaknesses. It actually makes
the Pokémon immune against Normal and Fighting attacks. Not bad at
all. Sadly, there are also only three Ghost techniques, two of which are
decent (Confuse Ray and Nightshade). But Ghost techniques are only strong
against other Ghost Pokémon, so you should probably just teach your
Ghost Poison and Psychic techniques instead. Standard Poison technique: use
Toxic together with Confuse Ray or a Sleep move.

Best Pokémon: Gengar
Gengar all the way. This Ghost not only looks awesome (anyone else think
he looks like the Nekobus from My Neighbor Totoro?) but also has great stats.
Use the Hypnosis/Dream Eater combo to drive your opponent mad.

Dragon

This rare Pokémon type can be a powerful foe -- but one Blizzard hit
usually spells doom for even the most powerful Dragon. The only problem with
Dragon types is that there is only one single Dragon technique in the game,
Dragon Rage (deals 40 damage). I personally don't like using Dragons, but
they can be a pain if your opponent has one and you don't have an Ice type.

Best Pokémon: Dragonite
It's a toss-up. Do you want a really powerful Flying Dragon who is susceptible
to Electric, Rock and Ice attacks or a less amazing fighter who is susceptible
to Ice only? In the end, Dragonite's stats are just too good to ignore, making
its pre-evolution Dragonair a less popular choice.

Dark

Dark Type Pokémon were added to the Gold and Silver Gameboy games, so they
appear now in Stadium 2. Since they are strong against Types that no other
Pokémon can challenge: Psychic and Ghost types. Having a well-developed Dark
Pokémon in your bundle can make you a deadly and surprising force
indeed--especially against those Mew/Mewtwo wiseguys. The Dark technique
Thief is also important here, as Pokémon can take Items into battle. Make
your friends go crazy with this Type.

Best Pokémon: Tyranitar
One of the strongest Pokémon in the game, this guy uses Crunch to devastating
effect. He's pretty much good against everyone but Fighting and Bug types,
making him the first out of the gate for most battles you'll come across.

Steel

Another addition to Gold and Silver, Steel type Pokémon are some of the most
valuable in the game. They are super-powerful and immune to most Types (except
Fire, Fighting and Ground). This is balanced, however, by the fact that they
are weak against some of the most common types in the game (Fire, Water and
Electric). It's nice to have one Steel Type (especially if you've trained
it yourself) in your team of six, simply because it is immune to so many
different types. Use it to wear down opponents and waste their power before
switching to someone else to finish the job.

Best Pokémon: Steelix
The Iron Tail maneuver is especially nasty, and this Pokémon's animation
is among the coolest in the game.

Rental Pokémon

A quick word of warning about Rental Pokémon. A Level 50 Rental
Pokémon will never be as good as a Level 50 Pokémon trained
by yourself. While the selection of moves is one thing, it's really the stats
that differ the most. You can still get through most of the game by using
Rental Pokémon only, but that means you will also miss out on many
of the exciting features that Pokémon Stadium 2 has to offer. And
once you unlock the Round 2 Mode, you will also quickly notice how limited
the Rental Pokémon are in comparison to the CPU's. Your best bet is
to only use Rentals if you don't have a Pokémon of a particular type
(or level).

So how should you pick your Rental Pokémon? Try our recommended
Pokémon (above) first -- but always check their moves to see whether
they know any decent ones. For help determining what techniques are worth
using, check our complete Techniques Listing. Or visit the Library at the
Pokémon Academy to further your studies.